ICM Chapter 52

“Open the door, quickly!”

The man shook the doorknob while keeping his voice as low as possible. In the old cabin, the sound resonated quite loudly. People who had been deeply asleep barely woke up from the sound of the rattling door.

“What’s the matter so early in the morning? Oh my, who is this?”

“Get in, hurry up and get in!”

As soon as the door opened, the man pushed the other person inside and followed.

There were signs of people waking up here and there, and someone lit an oil lamp. About ten people had been sleeping with their backs against each other and were just waking up.

The man scanned the now brightened interior.

“Where did everyone go? The guys who went with me?”

“You went with them, so you should know. How would we know?”

“They didn’t return? Has anyone brought any news?”

The man asked again with a pale face. By now, everyone in the cabin was awake and watching him. Their faces showed they had no idea what was happening.

“You left with them a week ago. We’ve all been wondering why there’s been no news.”

The man, completely deflated, collapsed to the floor.

“So it was true.”

The captured comrades had died from poison, and the comrades who escaped from the mansion that day had clearly been dealt with by the client. Of the seven people mobilized for this job, only this man had returned alive.

“Such cruel people…”

The man sat down and wept profusely.

“Come now, what’s wrong?”

“What happened?”

Alarmed people gathered around. Despite their urging, the man couldn’t speak and just continued crying. But his sorrow didn’t last long.

Bang, crash.

The door opened with a loud noise. The old lock had fallen off helplessly with just one rough kick.

“Gasp.”

“W-who are you?!”

The startled people froze in place. The man who had been crying also jumped up from his spot and backed away.

“What is this place?”

“Th-that person!”

The man pointed at Aegonite with a pale face. He couldn’t fail to recognize the person who had interrogated him throughout his time at Talion Mansion.

However, Aegonite’s face showed even more surprise than the frightened man’s.

This was in an outlying area far from the center, where abandoned buildings were clustered. He had never imagined people would be living here. It was a hideout where even the light from oil lamps couldn’t escape outside, as all the window gaps had been blocked with cloth.

“Aegonite, what’s the situation inside?”

A voice from outside brought Aegonite back to his senses.

“There appears to be no danger.”

As Aegonite moved aside by the door, another person entered.

“What is this…”

Drushia, who had stepped inside, was also at a loss for words, just like Aegonite.

When they couldn’t get useful information from the prisoner, Drushia had chosen to release him rather than punish him. It was because the captured man seemed naive. He judged it would be better to follow him and find connections.

But the place the man had fled to was beyond imagination. The people who were terrified, and the place that was too old and shabby to be called a villain’s hideout.

“This place is surrounded by Talion’s knights. It would be best not to think about escaping. Now, who will explain the current situation?”

At the mention of Talion, the people’s eyes widened.

“Talion ducal family?”

“Could it be…”

“Your Grace? Aren’t you Duke Talion?”

A young man from the farthest corner rushed forward.

“That’s right. Look everyone, it’s Duke Talion!”

The situation was becoming increasingly incomprehensible. Drushia deeply furrowed his brow, and Aegonite lowered his hand that had been about to grasp his sword.

“You know me?”

“I saw you from a distance when you visited the Grand Duke’s territory a few years ago.”

With his tall stature, bright blonde hair, and handsome features, Drushia was particularly noticeable even among knights.

“The Grand Duke’s territory? Are you saying you’re from there?”

“Not just me. Everyone here is from the Grand Duke’s territory.”

Drushia’s eyes widened at the response. The young man prostrated himself flat on the floor and pleaded.

“Your Grace, please spare us. We all left the Grand Duke’s territory for various reasons and ended up stranded here.”

“Explain.”

Drushia quietly looked down at him, waiting for his next words. The hesitant young man glanced briefly at his terrified companions and then, as if having made up his mind, began to speak.

“In the Grand Duke’s territory, there has long been a rare disease not seen in other areas. Since no cure could be found, those afflicted lived separately.”

That was information Drushia already knew. The people who had escaped from the poorhouse while receiving treatment were from that village.

“Originally, this disease was known not to be contagious. The number of patients didn’t increase. But recently, the disease began to spread.”

“Are you saying it’s becoming contagious?”

“Not exactly, but patients are increasing around specific areas.”

Drushia’s expression grew increasingly stern. The young man, perhaps thinking this was his last chance, desperately continued.

“The disease is definitely spreading. Recently, I saw a foreigner who wasn’t from the Grand Duke’s territory receiving treatment for the same disease at the poorhouse.”

“You, were you also at the poorhouse?”

The young man cautiously raised his head to check Drushia’s expression and then prostrated himself again.

“Actually… half the people here escaped from the poorhouse.”

“Ah.”

“I’m sorry. We know we’ve committed a crime, but we needed a way to survive.”

“This isn’t just any crime; you’ve violated an imperial edict.”

At the cold tone, the young man couldn’t even respond.

No matter what they did to survive, violating an imperial edict was a serious offense. The people who were now only waiting for their punishment gradually backed into corners. Drushia’s expression was extremely complicated as he watched them.

“And so? Where was this foreigner with the same disease from?”

“He didn’t say, but…”

“Then how did you know he was a foreigner?”

“His accent was different. And despite his shabby clothes, he didn’t look like a commoner. Everyone was puzzled to see him mingling so easily with the people at the poorhouse.”

Aegonite had a flicker of recognition at the young man’s description.

“What did he look like?”

“Ah, yes. He was a young man in his early 20s, with gray hair and grayish-blue eyes…”

“That bastard, he was one who escaped from the poorhouse?”

The young man flinched at Aegonite’s sudden shout.

“Sir, do you know who he is?”

“Ha, so it was him.”

A strange man had inexplicably attached himself to Ashika, whose movements were predictable. Aegonite had always found it odd, and now there was a connection. The man who had fled in Igraine’s carriage during the poorhouse fire incident. The shameless man called Nile.

‘No wonder he avoided the topic whenever it came up.’

He had been suspicious all along, but now he turned out to be even more suspicious.

‘That woman must be out of her mind. Why would she associate with such a person?’

The young man continued speaking while observing Drushia and Aegonite’s reactions.

“The Grand Duke’s territory has been suffering from drought for years and is becoming increasingly barren. As the number of patients increased, the public became uneasy, and people who couldn’t endure it any longer left the territory and scattered to nearby small cities. And those suffering from the disease came here after hearing about a healer from the capital.”

That’s how people who left the Grand Duke’s territory gathered one by one to form a group. Among them, those who were nimble and knew how to handle a sword had been doing various odd jobs.

And recently, they had accepted a mysterious request for quite a substantial reward. That’s how they had infiltrated Talion’s mansion.

People no one knew existed because they were hiding secretly. Someone had sent these people into Talion’s mansion and quickly disposed of those who managed to escape, erasing all traces. It was a crime committed with the knowledge that no one would be able to inquire.

Drushia silently looked down at the young man.

He knew the situation in the Grand Duke’s territory was getting worse, but he hadn’t realized it was this bad. The personnel dispatched from both families was limited, and they couldn’t manage the entire vast territory.

Especially, they couldn’t monitor the inner villages of the Grand Duke’s territory. Proper support would only be possible once the blockade was lifted, but that was currently unimaginable.

“You have violated the imperial edict and left the Grand Duke’s territory. Do you know how serious that crime is?”

At the severe tone, everyone in the room bowed their heads.

Defying an imperial edict was a crime comparable to treason. Regarding the Grand Duke’s territory, the imperial family punished crimes even more harshly.

A long sigh escaped from Drushia’s lips. With a hardened face, he reached his conclusion.

“I will arrange for a carriage right now. Return to the Grand Duke’s territory under the escort of the knights.”

“What?”

“Your Grace, we…”

“If anyone attempts to escape again, they will be immediately sent to the Security Force. Keep that in mind.”

Everyone fell silent after hearing the additional warning. Drushia left the building with just those words.

“Aegonite.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Strengthen the security both inside and outside until the secret passage to the mansion is completely sealed.”

The secret passage that the man had used to enter the mansion was a place that had been discontinued more than several decades ago. They had brazenly ransacked the mansion using a location that even Talion’s people had forgotten about.

‘Whoever orchestrated this incident knows Talion well.’

Perhaps there was someone who had been watching Talion for longer than expected.

‘What could the purpose have been?’

No clear clue was visible no matter how much he pondered.

“And you personally escort them and make sure every single one returns to the Grand Duke’s territory.”

The last escapee caught by Talion’s knight had also been sent to the Grand Duke’s territory. It was obvious that sending them to the Security Force would result in them being neglected without proper treatment. It was the same this time.

“Me personally?”

“Yes. And assign a few knights to start investigating from the problematic village. Consider it as atonement for the punishment you’ve been postponing.”

Recalling his wrongdoing against Ashika, Aegonite agreed.

It was a blatant violation of the imperial edict. All the escapees should have been handed over to the Security Force and processed according to the law, but Drushia couldn’t bring himself to do so. They were people driven into a corner, abandoned with the charge of treason and deprived of care.

‘An imperial edict that drives normal people to danger, and punishes those who just want to live.’

His heart grew unbearably heavy. Drushia sighed as he gazed at the dawn sky.

“Isn’t forty years too long?”

It was too much time to punish someone, or somewhere, in the name of treason.